Parker Palmer:Let Your Life Speak

Parker Palmer: Let Your Life Speak

“A leader is someone with the power to project either shadow or light onto some part of the world and onto the lives of the people who dwell there. A leader shapes the ethos in which others must live, an ethos as light-filled as heaven or as shadowy as hell.”—Parker J. Palmer, “Shadows and Spirituality” in Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (Jossey-Bass, 2000).

I learned about Parker Palmer when I attended a College of Preachers conference just for deacons at the National Cathedral led by the Bishop of Maryland, Robert Ihloff. We spent the whole week learning to preach and studying Palmer’s book about vocation.

Parker Palmer told us about what causes leaders to fail.

We cast a shadow rather than light when we fail to go on an inner journey and are insecure about our own identity and worth. Our identity becomes dependent on performing.

When we are insecure about our own self-worth, we create situations that deprive others of their identity or develop settings in which others are required to meet our needs.

We assume titles that place us above others.

We call others by their first name, while we must be addressed by our last name or title.

Leaders fail when they see the universe as a hostile battlefield. We see others as either allies or enemies on a playing field where we must be highly competitive or we will lose.

Palmer’s third explanation of why leaders fail is “functional atheism,” a term he may have coined. We believe that the ultimate responsibility for everything rests with us.

The fourth shadow within a leader that leads to failure is fear, mostly fear of chaos. This fear leads to a rigidity toward rules and procedures. We forget that creativity is born out of chaos.

Finally, Parker sees leaders fail when they deny death. They keep resuscitating programs that are no longer alive, putting them on life support.

I can identify with all of these shadows of leadership.

Do these shadows speak to you as well?

During the unsettling and difficult periods in our lives is a good time to listen again and again to Parker Palmer’s voice in Let Your Life Speak.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Mentors and Friends

Charleston: Mentors and Community

"We are not done yet. We may count our progress in inches. We may swim against the deep tides of greed and hate, but we are not done yet. Even if we do not live to see it all, we will be content to be the inspiration, to give all we have to free our world from fear."—Steven Charleston, Daily Facebook Page.

Phyllis Tickle

Bishop Charleston encourages us during difficult times when we are discouraged. This is why God constantly calls us to community. We feel we have lost our connection to God when our lights are dim. We think we have accomplished nothing. We believe we are failures.

Yet, there are others in our community whose lights are on, who are more connected to God, and who can encourage and support us until we see a different picture. They are like Simon of Cyrene, briefly carrying our cross. They are like the paralytic's friends, lifting him through the rooftop to Jesus. Then, as we heal, it will be our turn to be the encourager.

Often, people come for spiritual direction or meet with spiritual friends who have been burned out or feel their life or ministry is not accomplishing what they had hoped.

Our job as spiritual friends is to show each other where God is working in our lives and how important it is to continue inspiring each other, remembering that we may not see the results. But unfortunately, the results may be apparent much later, long after we have lived our lives and our names have been forgotten.

As I grow older, I more vividly remember the people, teachers, grandparents, co-workers, and friends who encouraged, supported, and never gave up on me. But unfortunately, most of them are dead, so I can only thank them by trying to pay it forward and encouraging others as they did to me.

So today, I share Jon Sweeney's recent biography of Phyllis Tickle, Phyllis Tickle, A Life, where he shares how Phyllis was a major encourager for him, me, and many others. We will especially honor Phyllis next March, the month of her birthday. (March 12).

Today, list the mentors who have helped us on this journey and those in our community of spiritual friends who guide us when we cannot see the light. Honor them by sharing the light and love you learned from them with others.

Pass It On.

Joanna  https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Koinonia

Koinonia

“All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”—Acts 2: 44-45.

Mac graduation Friday

In her brilliant sermon at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Patricia Matthews reminds us of the winning word in the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee that weekend: Koinonia. Fourteen-year-old Karthik Nemmani from McKinney, Texas, correctly spells this word of Greek origin, meaning Christian fellowship or communion with God.

It refers primarily to fellowship with other Christians in community. Patricia reminds us that this 91st National Spelling Bee, with its 515 qualified participants, was televised on none other than ESPN. In this sports network, we watch football, basketball, baseball, or soccer more often!

When I heard the winning word that weekend and Sunday from Patricia, my heart skipped a beat. Koinonia had been in my heart for almost a week. Langley, our oldest granddaughter, had just graduated from high school and was headed to the University of Georgia. I had been praying about how I could support her in this decision. The answer came as I read a review of two books about Clarence Jordan in The Christian Century.

I want to remind Langley about Mr. Jordan, perhaps one of the most outstanding graduates of the University of Georgia. His competency in Greek led him to produce his “Cotton Patch” version of the New Testament, as he strove to communicate the Bible’s message in everyday language.

Jordan also founded Koinonia Farm as a farming community of believers sharing their lives and resources, following the example of the first Christian communities. Out of this movement came Habitat for Humanity International by Millard Fuller, and later The Fuller Center for Housing, Jubilee Partners, and much support for the Civil Rights Movement.

First DOK Chapter at St. Mark’s

Also, that Sunday at our church, a group of women met to begin discernment toward creating a Daughters of the King chapter at St. Mark’s. Daughters of the King also seek koinonia—specifically fellowship with other women who want a more profound spirituality and relationship to God through prayer, service, and evangelism.

I will keep koinonia in my heart for a few more years to see if I observe any more serendipitous connections of synchronicity in our world.

Now, over six years later, that newly formed Grace Chapter of Daughters of the King at St. Mark’s numbers over 40 women who meet monthly, praying every day for every member of this congregation and the needs of the world.

During the pandemic, the Daughters began a new ministry, reaching out to women in prison who have requested books to read. The ministry is called Free Read and was the brainchild of Tandy Cobb Willis. It has now expanded to be a ministry of the whole church.

Since this writing, we have traveled to Texas, El Dorado, Shreveport, Memphis, and Springfield, Missouri, to meet with other women of the Daughters of the King.

I now love hearing about our grandchildren’s adventures and connections since we travel less and less.

 Langley has now graduated from Georgia and is finishing her first year at NYU Law School to study international law. Zoe is finishing her junior year at Tulane, where she has experienced Koinonia New Orleans’ style! Last fall, she spent a semester in Copenhagen. She travels to New York City and Stockholm for two women’s conferences this summer.

Mac graduates from the University of Georgia this month and then goes to Liverpool for a year to earn a master’s in sports management. Gray is finishing his first year at  Kentucky studying art and journalism, and Turner is finishing his first year in the honors college at the University of Arkansas studying biomedical engineering. He is off this summer to Belgium to further his studies. Elizabeth is now driving.

Our community continues to expand as we hear stories of connections from all over the country and worldwide. I have faith in the future as I see what our children’s children are doing.

The Koinonia continues.

Joanna. joannaseibert.com https://www.joannaseibert.com/